Court Ruling Slows Down Rocketship Charter Schools

Charter schools aren't exempt from zoning rules in the South Bay, a judge has ruled, where a movement toward the alternative to public schools may now be stymied.

The "widely anticipated" court order by a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge means that charter schools in the San Jose area are no longer on a "fast-track," according to the San Jose Mercury News.

This means that the 20 Rocketship charter schools, approved by the Santa Clara County Board of Education, might not open on time, the newspaper reported.

The first charter campus was scheduled to open in August for the new school year.

San Jose Unified School District pursued the lawsuit. The district did so in order to affirm its power over the county-level board, attorneys said.

Rocketship Education has bought a parcel of land near the Tamien light-rail station, where it wants to build a K-5 school, the newspaper reported.

Rocketship wants to quickly build classrooms on a parcel of land not zoned for a school -- hence the trouble.

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